Another newbie here :)

[lelabrown]

I have a 1988 Honda Accord, that I love. I purchased it from a very nice man in NM about 2 years ago. He told me about this site, but I forgot to check it out. I'm here now, trying to find information on how to repair the car. It runs,but won't go into gear,ANY gear. I've checked the fluid,but it's full. The car has been sitting under a foot of snow for 6 months and I finally have a chance to attempt a repair

[-$MOKIN-]

Hey does it just stay in park ? And also does it have the lock on the shifter? Its a auto right?

[anaccordman]

Welcome lelabrown!

Enjoy this forum....it is excellent and has lots of very knowledgeable people.
And good luck with your Accord.

Bob

[RallyKid]

yeah if its automatic and has that automatic shift lock you should be able to just put the key in there.

[Dr_Snooz]

Welcome! I suspect your selector cable has taken a vacation. Get under the car and make sure it's still connected and not broken or kinked. Again, assuming it's an auto.

[lelabrown]

Oh man,
I'm so sorry for not remembering to specify that it's 5 speed stickshift;manual tranny. I'm getting old and forget everything
The car starts and runs,but no matter what I do with the clutch,it won't go into any of the gears. Worse yet, the only mechanical work I've done is the simple stuff;oil changes,plug/wire/rotor cap changes,fuel injection gasket changes and CV boot packing type stuff. You'd think at 37,I'd know more by now

[-$MOKIN-]

Prolly your pressure plate throw out bearing and clutch bro

[Dr_Snooz]

If your shifter flops around without engaging any gears, then it's definitely the shift selector shaft between the shifter and the transmission. If so, you can probably figure out what's wrong with it by getting under the car and looking at it. If the shifter works as normal, then you have something broken inside the transmission or a broken CV axle. In both of those cases, you would want to take it to the shop.

[Demon1024]

DONT TRY TO START IT in gear!
^^^ does it flop around?


Or does it still move into the gear positions when not running? Like when it's off can you move it through the gears?
VV VV VV
Check the cable on the tranny for the clutch. Have someone watch the lever to see if it moves when the clutch is pressed. If not you've found the problem. Either above the clutch pedal in the car (possibly the assembly itself ), inside the cable somewhere or like what happened to me = the very end got corroded and broke.

But if the cable moves the lever, like stated above, it's most likely your clutch / pressure plate

[lelabrown]

First off, let me tell you folks,a BIG ♥THANK YOU ♥
It means alot to me that y'all are on this forum helping people like me. Before it snowed 3 feet,I remember checking the cable. When the clutch was pressed,it moved I haven't tried putting it into gear while off though.I'll try that today. There's no flopping,so I'm praying that y'all are right,that it's just a clutch & plate replacement.That was my first thought,but I don't trust myself.LOL I've been over here imagining the tranny being all screwed up in dread. NO money for that.
I'll post an update after I check that. Thank you all so much!

[Dr_Snooz]

I misread the original post, so ignore my posts above. My only question is, what happens when the car is running and you try to put it in gear?

[lelabrown]

It won't go into gear at all I'm scared to force it,and when I push a little it starts crunching,so I stop

[Dr_Snooz]

When and how did this start happening?

[JDMPrelude23]

Welcome to 3geez!! Congrats on the accord

[lelabrown]

It started last October,and has been sitting since then{after I towed in to CA on a Uhaul.LOL} Basically,it was fine and after I parked it the last time,I couldn't get in into gear at all.I have been waiting for the snow to stop long enough to look at it

[Dr_Snooz]

You towed it to California and it wouldn't shift after that? That's a bad sign. Where in California is it that it's buried under snow?

[Aaronus]

Honda is a nice car..i like it very much...i've got a similar problem,but now everything is fine...